US refuses to take part in UN review of its human rights record
The US has joined Israel in rejecting a UN review of its rights record by leaving an empty chair at a working group in Geneva. The US had previously withdrawn from the UN's rights council, reflecting disenchantment with the organization on the part of the Trump administration.
Geneva (dpa/AFP) - The United States has become the second country after Israel to refuse to take part in a United Nations review of its human rights record, leaving its seats empty at a scheduled session of the UN Human Rights Council's working group in Geneva on Friday.
The US also failed to submit a national report ahead of the meeting, the working group said, formally noting Washington's "non-cooperation." The decision carries no direct consequences, and the group invited the US to rejoin the process at a later date.
"We were supposed to meet today in order to proceed with the review of the United States. Nevertheless, I note that the delegation of the United States is not present in this room," said Jurg Lauber, president of the UN Human Rights Council, as he opened the session.
In a statement, the US mission in Geneva said the UN "feigned care for human rights" while allowing known violators to use the organization to "shield themselves from scrutiny."
US accuses UN of anti-Israel bias
The statement also accused the UN of "unrelenting bias against Israel."
Since 2008, all 193 UN member states have been required to undergo a so-called Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of their human rights record roughly every five years. Countries present reports on their progress, while others may raise questions and make recommendations.
Israel was previously the only country to skip its review, in 2013, before resuming cooperation several months later.
The United States withdrew from the rights council shortly after President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Withdrawal, however, does not exempt any UN member country from the UPR process.
Human rights advocates warned that autocratic governments might now follow the US example and refuse to participate in future reviews.
The US absence from its UPR, which all 193 UN member states are required to undergo every four to five years, was not a surprise, since Washington had said back in August it would boycott the process.
US rights groups angered
But it still angered a number of local US officials and rights groups who had come to Geneva to list their rising concerns since US President Donald Trump returned to power in January.
Several countries that had gathered to take part in the review also spoke up, with China's representative decrying Washington's "lack of respect for the UPR mechanism".
Cuba adds its criticism
Cuba's representative also accused Washington of seeking "to undermine the Human Rights Council and the UN system and civil society as a whole", adding that it was "clear that the government of the United States is afraid of the result of this exercise".
After Lauber ascertained that there was no US delegation in the room, the council swiftly moved to adopt a decision on "non-cooperation of a state under review".
The council "called upon the state under review to resume its cooperation with the universal periodic review mechanism" and decided to reschedule the US UPR for late 2026, with the possibility of holding it sooner, it said in a statement.
The only other country to have failed to show up for its UPR was Israel in early 2013, although it eventually underwent a postponed review 10 months later.